A Thunderbolt from the sky..A thunderbolt that could make change.A Thunderbolt that will tear apart the black clouds of imperialism and communalism that had covered India.Yes change is inevitable..Change will Come..

Saturday, April 6, 2013

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses deep concern that
negotiations on the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)
between the European Union and India, has proceeded without any due
scrutiny by Parliament or other democratic institutions. We understand
that there is a move to conclude the negotiations by the middle of
April.

The FTA with the European Union is the most ambitious and
comprehensive of all FTAs that India is negotiating or has signed. Its
impact on the economic and social fabric of the country could well be
deep and long lasting. The agreement is likely to worsen the already
burgeoning current account deficit and trade deficit. Evidence from
trade agreements that India has already entered clearly indicate that
they further worsen the country’s trade deficit. For example, in the
case of the agreement with Singapore a trade surplus was rapidly
converted into a deficit after the signing of the FTA.

The intellectual property, investment and government procurement
chapters of the agreement will have a negative impact on virtually every
area of economic activity -- including agriculture, industry and
services. Higher standards of intellectual property protection will have
a negative impact on health services; strong investor protection
mechanisms will undermine the government’s ability to regulate
industrial and financial corporations in national interest; and the
opening up of government procurement to foreign firms will undermine
even the minimal social protection measures in place, such as the public
distribution system. The agriculture sector is likely to be
particularly affected by the dumping of subsidized agricultural products
from the EU.

Several sections representing different sectors of the economy have
already articulated serious concerns about the impact of the FTA. The
automobile industry is likely to be seriously affected. Amul, India’s
largest milk cooperative, has similarly expressed concern regarding the
impact of subsidized dairy imports from the EU that can jeopardize the
livelihood of 80 million farmers in India.

Claims that the FTA will open up additional markets for Indian
exporters are unsubstantiated and are not, in any case, going to
compensate for the expected surge in imports. The EU can be expected to
continue with its strategic use of subsidies and non tariff barriers to
prevent entry of Indian exports.

The CPI(M) is particularly concerned that the entire negotiating
process has been non-transparent, with a total lack of public
consultation with affected sections, parliamentary oversight, or the
involvement of state governments. Despite repeated expressions of
concern by political parties including the CPI(M), the government has
moved forward with the process, shunning even a modicum of effort to
arrive at a political consensus on the issue. The Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Commerce is examining the impact of FTAs but the
government’s determination to sign the EU-India BTIA without waiting for
the Committee’s report betrays a shocking disregard for parliamentary
democratic institutions.
.
The CPI(M) demands that the government should not conclude the negotiations at this stage and should instead:
• wait for the Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee;
• conduct a parliamentary debate on the issue;
• hold public consultations with all affected groups;
• share the texts of the current negotiating process and conduct, on their basis, impact assessment studies.